The organizations that help feed the hungry in Central Oregon have watched, with increasing alarm, the growth of childhood hunger.

The regional statistic, compiled by NeighborImpact, is striking — 37% of those who rely on food banks are children.

Parents are going without food and seeking out multiple resources to keep their families fed. One child told officials that the food bank was her favorite place in the world. Another child was surprised to learn that, due to a partnership between two social welfare organizations, her family would be getting a meal that night, one after-school program found.

“It very much is our families not being able to buy enough food, the parents going without to make sure that the kids have food, and our families needing to rely more and more on food banks and other supports in the community, as the high cost of food really hits the bottom line for our families,” said Julie Lyche, president of Family Access Network, which helps connect Central Oregon kids with food and clothing.

Hungry children receive breakfast and lunch at school, after-school snacks through school or after-school programs, and dinner through food banks. Some organizations also provide snacks over the weekend, though some children may not have dinner on weeknights.

Families are coming for help with supplemental food, said Carly Auten, food programs director at NeighborImpact, which partners with 55 food banks in Central Oregon to feed those in need.

“Families with kids are hurting at the end of the month,” she said.

Causes include the end of pandemic-era government assistance, high housing costs and low family incomes, among other reasons. As grocery costs have risen, so has childhood hunger. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices were 3.3% higher in October 2023 than a year prior.

During the pandemic, many federal programs, like food stamps, were fully funded, and childhood food insecurity began to decline, said Auten. As those programs began to expire, families came back for help.

People often go for shelf-stable food, fresh produce and dairy products when getting food from NeighborImpact, Auten said. The organization compiles reports from its partner agencies documenting who the agencies are serving.

But there is help out there. Food banks, school districts, after-school programs and other Central Oregon organizations have created solutions.

School and summer lunches

Each school district in Central Oregon offers free and reduced lunch to children who qualify. Certain students, such as those identified as foster children, homeless, or, as of fall 2023, living in a house that participates in Medicaid, automatically qualify. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also reimburses school districts that provide free meals during the summer in community parks.

This past September, the agriculture department expanded the number of school districts eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision, a program that allows students to receive breakfast and lunch at school at no cost, and without filling out an application. School districts receive federal funding in exchange, but must use local or state funds to fill in any gaps.

Jefferson County School District receives the provision at seven of its schools, while Bend-La Pine Schools has it at 10 schools. At Bend-La Pine Schools, 31% of students receive free or reduced lunch, according to Scott Maben, the district’s communications director.

Redmond School District has eight schools with the community eligibility provision. The district has also partnered with NeighborImpact and Jericho Road to provide meals for Head Start preschool students, said Lance McMurphy, the district’s nutrition services director.

Family Access Network

Last school year, Family Access Network connected over 2,930 children and family members to food resources, including food bank connections and food stamps. Network advocates in schools also handed out food, while others occasionally gave grocery store gift cards. Lyche, president of Family Access Network, said its free breakfast and lunch program is great, but can make things hard when kids aren’t in school. Family Access Network partners with The Giving Plate and Jericho Road, who provide kids with backpacks of food to help get them through the weekend.

Families are having to rely upon a variety of resources to put enough together to feed everyone, but sometimes those resources can introduce problems.

Lyche said families may be given food they can’t eat, due to allergies, or might not know how to cook. Families also have to get creative about how to access food banks when working full time.

“They’re making it until they’re not. They’re making it until the car breaks down, or they’re making it until they get their hours cut,” Lyche said. “When you are just living on the cusp, it makes it that much harder.”

After-school programs

The Boys and Girls Club of Bend, an after-school and summer program, has partnered with several organizations to help provide kids and families with meals and snacks.

More than half of the 140 kids in Boys and Girls Club attend under a scholarship system. The program partners with the Giving Plate to provide weeknight meals to kids and families who sign up. Organizers send 30 bags home each week, with three meals per bag, said Bess Goggins, CEO.

During the school year, Bend-La Pine Schools provides after-school snacks to the Boys and Girls Club.

“We do keep snacks here if a kid says they’re hungry,” said Goggins. “We’re always going to have some granola bars and other things that we can share.”

The Bend Park & Recreation District runs the Kids Inc. after-school program. The park district provides snack baskets at 11 Kids Inc. school sites.

Redmond School District provides after-school care and food through the federal Child and Adult Food Care program, as does the park district at certain Bend-La Pine Schools sites.

Foster children

Foster youth overwhelmingly tend to have food trauma, said Melissa Williams, director of Every Child Central Oregon, an organization that provides support to local foster families.

“So they’re more insecure eating or will steal food because food might have been scarce where they lived previously,” said Williams. “It’s a big deal that they learn how to eat and be comfortable and widen their palate.”

Williams said relatives, who are stepping in unplanned and taking in extra kids, are often the ones seeking help.

“They’re stepping in for kids in a crisis situation, so we’ll generally drop off gift cards for them,” said Williams.

The Giving Plate

Ranae Staley is executive director of The Giving Plate, a food bank that mainly focuses on children and childhood hunger. Staley said 64% of those served are 17 and younger.

“That is our niche and our passion, is childhood hunger,” said Staley.

The Giving Plate has the Kids Korner program, which is a kids food pantry, as well as the Kids Korner Mobile Pantry. The organization also runs Backpacks for Bend with Bend-La Pine Schools and the Family Access Network.

“It’s really powerful if you give kids ownership over their food and let them pick it out,” she said of Kids Korner.

On average, the Giving Plate provides 76,000 pounds of food to the community through all of its programs in a month.

“Kids can’t change their scenario. They’re a product of their environment,” said Staley. “When a child is food insecure, that’s a scarier place to be than an adult who is food insecure … which is why it’s so important for us to not just give parents food for their kids, but to give children food and empower them with the choice.”

Series: Hunger in Central Oregon

One in 5 residents of Central Oregon is hungry too often. Civic leaders, organizations and volunteers fighting to solve the problem say hunger goes deeper than most people are aware. The Bulletin is shining a light on the situation and the community’s efforts to address it.

• Hunger in Central Oregon: Food security is more than subsistence: the changing reality of hunger 

• Food banks: Myriad options in Central Oregon for donating to food banks

• Helping seniors: From prison with love: Deer Ridge inmates cook meals for Madras seniors

How can you help?

If you would like to help programs that provide food for Central Oregon children, here a few organizations you can call.

• The Giving Plate: 541-797-6883

• Every Child Central Oregon: 541-321-2798

• Family Access Network: 541-693-5675

• Boys and Girls Club of Bend: 541-617-2877

Series: Hunger in Central Oregon

One in 5 residents of Central Oregon is hungry too often. Civic leaders, organizations and volunteers fighting to solve the problem say hunger goes deeper than most people are aware. The Bulletin is shining a light on the situation and the community’s efforts to address it. Previously published stories in the series are:

Tuesday 

• Hunger in Central Oregon: Food security is more than subsistence: the changing reality of hunger 

• Food banks: Myriad options in Central Oregon for donating to food banks

Wednesday

• Helping seniors: From prison with love: Deer Ridge inmates cook meals for Madras seniors